Many college football fans have asked for the College Football Playoff to expand since its birth. These fans may finally get their wish to come true.
A working group for the CFP recommended that the playoff be expanded to include 12 teams. The CFP management committee will consider the proposal when they meet in Chicago next week.
A move to 12 teams instead of four would greatly benefit Florida and the SEC. Any college football expert would have a difficult time keeping a straight face if they said another conference besides the SEC was the best in college football.
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One of its conference members has snagged the championship four times in the seven-year history of the CFP. The SEC has also stood on the cusp of grabbing two spots in the playoff almost every year. However, they have only conquered the feat once which was in 2018 when UGA and Alabama played in the national championship. Texas A&M was the first team to miss the playoff this season, and it happened to the Bulldogs the two years prior.
I believe that if this proposal passes that the SEC will routinely have at least have three teams make the expanded playoffs. I dug up the final CFP rankings since its inceptions and reimagined the playoffs using the new format to test my prediction against history.
The SEC and the Big Ten would’ve benefitted the most because they would’ve had at least three programs make the cut with the new format in five out of seven seasons. But the SEC would’ve recorded four teams in 2018 and 2020. Florida also would’ve found itself in the CFP the last three seasons with the new format.
The current proposal to expand the field to 12 teams has a long way to go, but the SEC and Big 10 should be cheering for the recommendation to go all the way.
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